STRANGE THINGS ARE HAPPENING is the blog for THEE PSYCHEDELICATESSEN.
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Tuesday, 27 January 2015

SENDELICA – ANIMA MUNDI (LP, CD, D/L)

Anima Mundi
is the first studio albun from Welsh Prog/psych band SENDELICA for a while and
tis sure a heady brew of classic early 70s underground rock influences. It is
certainly a Prog Rock album but it is more in the tradition of the early 70s
European jazz influenced underground scene and particularly the sonic
experimentation of German kosmische musik as opposed to the post psychedelic
whimsy of many British Prog bands. Throughout all of the eight instrumental tracks
here there are elements of Ash Ra, Clear Light Symphony, Nik Turner’s Sphynx
and post pot head pixie Gong amongst others……..if SENDELICA had been about in
1973 they would have no doubt been signed to Virgin Records.

The album
opens with ‘The Craeft Worker’ and this track kinda sets the tone for the rest
of the album. Glenda Pescado’s bass pulses underneathColin Consterdine’s bubbling synths and fluttering electronics
while Pete Bingham guitar soars, sounding very much like Manuel Göttsching from
Ash Ra. Lee Relfe’s spaced out sax is added to the sonic soup for extra texture…..nice.
There is also a heavier side to SENDELICA which is ably demonstrated on the 12
minute psychedelic rock wig-out ‘Master Benjamin Warned Young Albert’ which is
all crunching guitar riffs and wailing sax solos driven by propulsive drums, a
track that would not be out of place on any early Hawkwind album. Proto-metal
rock guitar also dominates both ‘Baalbek Stones’ and the dense, heavy stoner
rock of ‘The Breyr, The Taeogon and The Caethion’. The standout tracks here are
the dreamlike ‘The Pillar Of Delhi’ and the totallykosmische ‘Searohwit’. ‘The Pillar Of
Delhi’ is a hazy psychedelic swirl where analogue synths twist round floating,
infinite guitars……..this features Gregory
Curvey from the brilliant Chicago psych rock band THE LUCK OF EDEN HALL who adds
extra guitar to the track. ‘Searohwit’ is cosmic music in the grand tradition
of early krautrock…..more Tangerine Dream than Neu! and possibly the best track
on the album.

On this
beautifully crafted album SENDELICA have expertly fused together psychedelic
rock with more ambient improvisations that although sometimes stray a little close
for comfort to New Age music, never go the full Windham Hill. Although Anima
Mundi is not a startlingly original album and may not be to everyone’s taste, this
is a mighty fine record you will dig if you like the more
underground/psychedelic hues of early 70s Prog Rock. Available now as LP, CD
and Download……..check it out here http://sendelica.bandcamp.com/album/anima-mundi